It really depends on your agency. At my agency, cohorts before mine were being hired during the agency's "years of plenty" and were auto-promoted yearly until they reached their target. So (for instance) you got hired with a MS as a 9, then the next you were 10, the next you were 11, and so forth until you reached your target.
But I got hired as the bottom fell out of the budget, and they instituted promotion quotas. So I was hired as a PhD as an 11 with a 13 target, my supervisors thought my work was great and rated me "must promote", and like almost everyone else I was not in fact promoted two years running.
So no, it's not guaranteed. This isn't a SMART problem, it's a government problem. There's tons of new employees in my agency in the exact same situation, and only a tiny percentage of them were hired through SMART. And I will say I really do like my job a lot. It's a fantastic place to work except for the terrible pay and promotion problems.
FAQs
It means you start at a GS-12 Paygrade, with the possibility to go to a GS-13 without competition. In other words, GS-13 is your full paygrade potential. There's actually no time limit involved, your supervisor can promote you to a GS-13 whenever they think you're doing GS-13 level work, but not less than 1-year.
What does GS-12 13 mean? ›
GS-3 or GS-4: typically internships, student jobs or lower level administrative work. GS-5 to GS-7: mostly entry-level and administrative positions. GS-8 to GS-12: mostly mid-level technical and first level supervisory positions. GS-13 to GS-15: Top-level technical and supervisory positions.
Is GS-13 competitive? ›
The GS-13 pay grade is generally reserved for top-level positions such as supervisors, high-level technical specialists, and top professionals holding advanced degrees. Positions at GS-13 and above are known as Career Competitive.
Is a GS-12 position good? ›
The GS-12 pay grade is generally held by white-collar employees in mid-level positions. GS-12 is the highest grade one can achieve before the position becomes "Career Competitive" meaning that the position must be listed on USAJobs.gov and be available any qualified U.S. citizen to apply.
Is GS 13 a high rank? ›
The GG pay rates are generally identical to published GS pay rates. The GS-1 through GS-7 range generally marks entry-level positions, while mid-level positions are in the GS-8 to GS-12 range and top-level positions (senior managers, high-level technical specialists, or physicians) are in the GS-13 to GS-15 range.
Is it hard to get a GS 13? ›
In order to qualify for positions at grades GS-13 and above, you must possess a bachelor's degree AND at least 24 semester hours of coursework in certain business-related fields.
Do you need a PhD for GS 13? ›
A GS-13 is supposed to require at least a Masters and a GS-14 a PhD. If you got 13 after a year, you have very little potential growth for the rest of your career.
How many years of experience for GS 13? ›
FOR THE GS-13 LEVEL : Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the.
How much does a GS 13 make at NASA? ›
The estimated total pay range for a GS 13 at NASA is $53K–$89K per year, which includes base salary and additional pay. The average GS 13 base salary at NASA is $69K per year. The average additional pay is $0 per year, which could include cash bonus, stock, commission, profit sharing or tips.
What is the top pay for GS 13? ›
Federal Government Gs 13 Salary in California
| Annual Salary | Monthly Pay |
---|
Top Earners | $155,437 | $12,953 |
75th Percentile | $126,300 | $10,525 |
Average | $95,272 | $7,939 |
25th Percentile | $66,600 | $5,550 |
As of Sep 6, 2024, the average hourly pay for a Gs 13 in California is $23.15 an hour. While ZipRecruiter is seeing salaries as high as $33.45 and as low as $14.23, the majority of Gs 13 salaries currently range between $20.87 (25th percentile) to $29.18 (75th percentile) in California.
What are the duties of a GS 13? ›
GS-13 program specialists are independently responsible for planning, and coordinating the efforts of key officials of Federal, State, or national organizations (administrative, elective, civic, and professional); and for stimulating cooperation and joint planning by such agencies to get needed programs into operation ...
Is GS 12 a high rank? ›
GS-12 is the 12th paygrade in the General Schedule (GS) payscale, the payscale used to determine the salaries of most civilian government employees. The GS-12 pay grade is generally held by white-collar employees in mid-level positions.
What is the highest pay for GS 12? ›
Get feedback on your pay or offer
Create an anonymous post and get feedback on your pay from other professionals. The estimated total pay range for a GS 12 at United States Federal Government is $95K–$128K per year, which includes base salary and additional pay.
How long does it take to become a GS 12? ›
At least 1 year of your specialized experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level. For example, to qualify for a GS-12 grade (or equivalent) level, you must have a minimum of 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to a GS-11 grade (or equivalent) level.
How many years to get GS 13? ›
Edit: my example: Hired as a GS7 GS-7 to GS 9 ( 6 months with a masters degree) GS 9-11 ( a year ) GS 11-12 (two years, yes sometimes it takes longer than a year) GS 12 - 13 ( one year) GS 13- 14 ( three years). I just interviewed for a 13 with 18 months in grade for 12 so..... Depends on the series.
How fast do you move up GS levels? ›
As a GS employee, you have to wait one year to increase to a step 2, 3, or 4. You must wait two years before increasing to step 5, 6, or 7. Lastly, you must wait three years before increasing to step 8, 9, or 10. This means that if you join TTS at step 1, you'll proceed to step 2 the following year.
Is GS 13 worth it? ›
A GS-13 is supposed to require at least a Masters and a GS-14 a PhD. If you got 13 after a year, you have very little potential growth for the rest of your career. $107k really is not a very high wage relative to the labor market for high end engineers, especially in tech.
How long do you have to be in a GS position before you can transfer? ›
In most cases, you must wait at least three months after your latest non-temporary competitive appointment before you may be considered for transfer to a position in a different line of work, at a higher grade, or to a different geographical area.